1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display device configured to scrollably display a plurality of images in a specific display area.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of display methods have been proposed to display a number of images in a relatively small display area. For example, a display method that achieves both the browsability and the visual recognizability of each image by switching the display size of thumbnail images has been proposed.
In a scrollable display method, upon a switch from a mode of displaying a number of small-size images to another mode of displaying a smaller number of larger-size images, the images are typically displayed from the beginning in the switched mode irrespective of the scroll position.
In a scrollable display method, an effective technique to locate a desired image from a number of captured images is to first display the images in a mode of displaying a large number of small-size images and, as the user approaches the desired image, to switch to another mode of displaying a smaller number of larger-size images. However, if the images are displayed from the beginning in the switched mode as described above, the user again needs to search for the desired image from the beginning.
In the meantime, a plausible technique is that the user selects at least one image to be displayed in the switched mode and the images to be displayed in the switched mode are determined so as to include the selected image. However, this technique requires the user to perform a troublesome selecting operation.